About Wry

Some of the posts are for students, and others are written for host families. Feel free to post comments. Email me at WryExchange at gmail dot com. This blog isn't updated. I have retired from high school exchange volunteering, but some of the information may still be relevant.
Former About Wry: I try to help our world, one person at a time, as a volunteer for High School Foreign Exchange Students. I have depression, DID, and ADD. My thoughts are non-linear, my memory sucks, and I'm snarky.

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Please consider giving any exchange students you know a Christmas gift or greeting card. The students appreciate any act of kindness. If the student isn’t Christian, and doesn’t typically celebrate Christmas, give her a card or present anyway. Just play up the secular American holiday aspect. (Don’t send me hate mail, yapping at me to ‘Keep Christ in Christmas.’ Christmas is also a cultural celebration in the states, not to mention the commercialism.)

Small, unbreakable tree ornament as a keepsake, perhaps with 2007 engraved on it. Target has metal photo frame ornaments with 2007 for under five dollars. FES doesn’t have to have a tree to hang it on, he can hang it on the wall when he goes home.

Two dollar bill or a dollar coin. Many of the students don’t realize we have dollar coins or a two dollar bill.

Presentation folder for the state quarters, with quarters. I’ve bought these at Barnes & Noble.

Take FES to a pro or college basketball or hockey game.

Husband says ‘anything electronic.’ How about an Ipod?

Giftcards may seem impersonal, but the kids are usually broke. Five, Ten, or twenty dollars would be greatly appreciated. The students are also severely weight limited. Many other countries don’t permit returns or exchanges, so if FES doesn’t like or can’t fit into something, she’ll just keep it instead of going back to the store.

Please write a note on any greeting card you give a FES. The kids think it’s odd because we just sign ‘Fondly, Wry & Husband’ instead of writing a few or more sentences. Think of the card as a keepsake, because he’ll almost certainly take the card home with him.

Something that we have always given our exchange student is an American flag. When we find out the exact date the student will be flying into the U.S, we contact our congressman and have an American flg flown over the U.S Capitol bulding on that date. The flag comes with a certificat saying that the flag was flown for “Sam the Exchange Student” and will be presented to him…or something to that effect. We give our student the flag as a Christmas gift and many have said that it was their “Best” gift.